THE FACE STARES DOWN THE OPPOSITION FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW. WINS WITH EASE

By Graham Potter | Saturday, December 2, 2023

Not only was it his third win in a row, but the latest success of the six-year-old gelding The Face was arguably his best yet as he ran his rivals ragged to score by 2.50 lengths in a Class 6 Plate over 1350m at Doomben on December 2.

The son of Rubick has been a revelation since joining the David Vandyke stable.

The Face only had his first start for the Vandyke stable on October 13 ... and that was a sighter over 1000m ... and he is now already a three-time winner in the Sunshine State, wining twice over 1200m on good going before adding this latest string to his bow by making a successful step up in distance on soft going ... which appears to have opened up more options for the gelding.

There was no serious challenge to The Face on the betting boards with the Vandyke runner on top of the market at $3 with Starzam ($4.80) the only other runner quoted under the $10 mark.

Any thought that jumping from barrier number twelve might boost the chances of the best of his rivals quickly went out of the window when Ben Thompson used The Face’s natural gate-speed to take the Vandyke trained runner into the lead ... but, in the early part, when The Face was held four wide, Thompson measured his forward move ... not rushing, instead happy to just hold the lead and take his time before being able to ease across runners to find the rail position ... this, only after the field had travelled 600m.

Again, once on the rail ... through the sweep to the home turn, Thompson allowed The Face to travel at a rate which suited the horse ... strong enough to start stretching the field out, but steady enough to translate into a comfortable gallop, leaving plenty in reserve for the final run home.

And what a run home it was!

The Face, who had set about extending his advantage approaching the home turn, seemingly quickening his stride without any undue effort, straightened with a lead of a little under two lengths.

You could make that four lengths with 220m left to run ... then five lengths with 150m left to run as The Face and Thompson simply turned the race into a procession, stamping their authority on proceedings in an emphatic manner.

The final winning margin did come down to 2.50 lengths at the line, but the race was signed and sealed long before that ... with The Face leaving the chasers behind in their race within a race to try and claim a minor placing.

This was a big win which said as much about The Face’s constitution as it did about his burgeoning ability as this was his third win in a thirty-six day period.

Clearly, the horse is thriving in his new surroundings.

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